Friday Morning Commute - I don't think he'll be very keen. He already has one you see.

Good morning

In a very bad opinion piece, the Times goes completely insane about DC's photo enforcement program. They're rooting for Congressional intervention - this is not the home rule paper. They hold up Kwame Brown as an example of how DC must think it's untouchable (I'm unclear on how his bad behavior, for which he has been convicted of a crime and removed from office makes us appear arrogant. It's hard to get more touchable than federal prison). But worst of all, they're upset that DC has created a commission to lower automated enforcement fines - because it's unfair to drivers. I guess they prefer the status quo? They're also upset that the D.C. Pedestrian Advisory Council and the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council have a seat at the table, because they're "car-hating liberals". If they can name one PAC or BAC member I'll buy a subscription. But I'm sure they can't, so how they know what the members think is beyond me. And, it seems reasonable to me to include the majority of commuters (53% who walk or bike at least part of the way) in a discussion about road safety. They don't even like having AAA at the table. No, according to the Times the best people to make decisions about this are people who don't live here.

This is not a sign of bad behavior, so much as a failure of our transportation network.

Details on the recently funded C&D Trail that will connect Chesapeake City to Delaware City. The project will convert the current gravel service road into a multi-use pedestrian and bicycle trail. Vehicular traffic will no longer be permitted, Geracimos said.

Chicago just has to do everything New York does, and so after New York City delayed the launch of their bike-sharing system, Chicago is following suit. The system will not meet it's goal of a late summer launch and will instead launch next year. And there is a little controversy brewing "According to news reports, Chicago’s inspector general is investigating the claims of an Alta rival that Alta had an unfair advantage in the bidding process. A spokesman for the inspector general would not confirm or deny that on Wednesday. Mr. Scales said Chicago’s transportation commissioner, Gabe Klein, was paid a $10,000 consulting fee to analyze Alta’s proposal for the New York program — which was a basis for the rival’s claim. Mr. Scales said that Mr. Klein had recused himself from the selection process in Chicago, and that the delay had nothing to do with any investigation of the rival bidder’s claims."

It's unfortunate that they took a potshot at cyclists in relation to DC idiotically placing speed cameras on 395/295. For one thing, we can't ride on those highways (and since when is a highway a 40mph road except by the most literal legal definition of the word). For another thing, some of us are opposed to the speed cameras for a variety of reasons.

They're confusing causation and correlation. Just because someone rides a bike or is from DC does not necessarily make them pro-speed camera, liberal or whatever other term they wish to eschew.

With that said, toss the Kwame Brown part aside and why the hell was an MPD officer falsfying logs? Are they really that lazy? I mean I guess the question answers itself, but that should be a bigger tipoff to the BAC/PAC and WT. If they're too lazy to even certify a log from their desk then why are they going to respond to a car hitting a bicycle? But the WT is too quick to paint with a broad brush, which is why even moderate conservatives gave up reading the paper long ago.

"(and since when is a highway a 40mph road except by the most literal legal definition of the word)."

[csb] I almost failed the Va written driving test the first time I took it, because inner suburban me considered 'highway' something like I-395 and not, as the people that wrote the driving test did, something like US 17 where it is actually credible for schoolbuses to stop and pick up kids.[/csb]

One upside to the NYC and Chicago bikeshare delays is that it should allow for the planned CaBi expansion bikes and stations to arrive in the area with fewer delays (using the old technology, not the newer, buggy version).

This year, that should be about 50 more DC stations, 8 in Alexandria, and possibly a few more in Arlington (although the main push is 33-39 new stations in 2013 as they seem to have wrapped up most of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor expansion, with perhaps a handful left). No recent word on the Rockville-Shady Grove 20, and the rest of MoCo/College Park/Greenbelt expansions seem to be about a year off.